Machine for bending metals



F. A. ODDIE MACHINE FOR BENDING METALS Nov. 9, 1926. v 1,606,096

Filed March 29, 1926 I 2 sheetsesheefc 1' I J2 J L L L ha ve/Prof Nov. 9 1926. 1,606,096

F. A. ODDIE MACHINE FOR sminma METALS F'iled March 29, 1926 2 Sheets-Shae; 2

-4 /2 2 [J2 I 03 L L /L K J Patented Nov. 9, 1925.

' intense earner-s rains barren stares rnnn ALBERT ODDIE, or HAMBLE, sournamr'ron, ENGLAND.

MACHINE BENDING METALS.

Application filed'March 29, 1926, Serial No. 98,329, and in Great Britain April 8, 1925.

This invention relates to machines for bending lengths of metal such as pipes rods, girders or the like of the type comprising a curved former which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent, and a bending member which lies on the'other side of the length of metal, relative movementbeing produced between the former and the bending member such that the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former and the bending member moves along the length of metal during the bendoperation while a fixed abutment memher is provided to restrain the metal 'at a point in its length adjacent to but suitably distant from the portion actually being bent.

Such machines as previously constructed were only'capable normally of imparting a curve of one given radius to the metal, such radius being substantially that of the former employed. it is the object of the pres ent invention to provide a machine of the above general type in which a simple adjustment enables the machine to impart curves of various radii to the metal while employing the same bending member and former, while further, repetition work can be carried out with ease and accuracy. 7

To this end according to the present invention means are provided whereby the abutment member which lies on the same side ofthe length of metal as the bending member and is adapted torestrain the metal at point adjacent to but suitably distant from the portion actually being bent,'is caused to yield to a controlled extent as and when pressure is applled agalnst it during v the bending operation and means are pro vided for varying this yielding movement of the abutment 'member.; The ,yielding movement of-the abutment member may be varied either in extent or in direction or in both extent and direction.-

(Ewing to the yielding movement of the abutment member the radius of the curve wnich is imparted to the metal is greater than that which would be imparted thereto it the abutment member were fixed and the diiierencebetween these two radii dependsv on the extent and direction of movement of. the abutment member. Thus the purposev and effect of varying the extent or direction or both the extent and direction of move- Cal 11161113 of the abutment member is to var the radius of the curve imparted to .tliemetal.

j The abutment member is 1 preferably adapted to move along a fixed guide andthis movement is conveniently effected by amechanical connection between the abutment member and the member by whose movement bending is performed, the connection comprising for example a linkage connecting the abutment member to the bending memher or to a member to which movement is ment of the abutment member. The adjustment device for varying the movement'of .th'e abutment memberis preferably provided with a scale or otherwise constructed or arranged sothat it can be set readily in accordance withv theradius of the curve which is to be imparted to the metal to be dealt with,

while the arrangement is conveniently such that in one positionof the adjustment device the abutment member will be held stationary during the bending operation.

In a'prefer-red construction the former is fixed while the bending member is so mounted and connected to or actuated by a pivoted.

lever that as the "lever swings, pressureis applied to the length of metal by the cooperatmg surfaces 01- the former and the bending member in the desired manner. In this arrangement the abutment member may conveniently be moved along a fixed guide bya I link connected at one end to the abutment member and at the other'end to the pivoted lever or to. a member carried thereby or connected thereto, while means are provided for j varying the distance between the axis of rotation of the pivoted lever and the adjacent point of connection of the link so as to vary the extent of the yielding movement of the abutment member along its guide. Thus for example the endof the link remote from the abutment member may be connected to a member which is mova-bleibutcapable of being locked in any desired position along a. guide carried bythe pivoted arm. In; an alternativearrangement the end of the. link remote from the abutment member may be connected toone end of a rod the other end of which passes through and is longitudinally adjustable in a socket on the arm. The

longitudinal adjustment may be effected by providing the rod and socketwith engaging. srrewthreadg the longitudinal adjustment of the rod throughthe socket 'being efl ectcd by rotation ofthe rod. Alternativelythe adjustment may be effected by sliding the rod...

sociated with the two" relatively movable.

parts oi the adjusting device so that this can be set readily in accordance with the radius of the curve which is to be imparted to the inetal'to be dealt withand tor-repetition work. The guide for the abutment membermay beinthe form of an involute of'the circle of which the former is an are.

In some cases means may be provided whereby during a bending'operation which requires for its completion two or more movements of the bending member, the

farmer to effecttlie bending but moves rel'a-' tive'lytheretoto an extent which is variableyielding movement of the abutment member will be varied or the mechanism controlling the movement adjusted automatically and in a predetermined manner for the purpose of making the radius of curvature ofthe individual small bends imparted by each operation of the bending member different in different parts of the complete bend so that the radius of curvature of the complete bend is different in different parts thereof and a compound curve of some predetermined form is thus, imparted to the metal acted upon. a

The former and bending member are preferably so constructed and arranged that the operative portions thereof can be removed and replaced readily so. as to enable formers and bending members having operative faces of different shapes to be used as required to suit the form and nature or type or" the material to be operated on, while means may also be provided for varying the distance of the bending member or the support therefor from the former for the purpose of enabling adustment to be effected in this respect to suit the particular cross section of the metal to be acted upon and to ensure proper cooperation between the former and the bending member.

Although in most cases the formerv is fixed While the bending member moves to effectthe bending, in some cases and more particula'rl'y in larger machines, the bending member maybe fixed and" the former may be moved in the desired manner. In this: case theab'utment member cooperateswith the so as to vary the curve imparted to the metal.

This; arrangement hastheadvantage that there is no swinging movement of the free end. of. the metal during the bending operation suchv as there is ina machine having a fixed former and movable bending member so that the space required for the machine is reduced. 7

The invention may be carried out in various ways but one construction according to this invention is:illustrated by way of example in-the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation,

Fig. 2 is: a plan,

Fig. 3 is asection on the-line, 35-3 ofFig. 2, and

Figs;- land 5 are respectively a perspectivev-iew'and asideelevation of parts ot the machine.

In the construction illustrated the machine comprises a support or standard A to which is bolted or otherwise secured aplate B constituting a bed plate for the operative parts oft-he machine. The-bed plate B has mounted thereon and preferably formed integral therewith a body block B to which a substantially segment-shaped former C 15 adapted to be removably secured, for e an'iple by pins or the like on theformer engaging suitab'le, sockets'in the body block. Rotatably mounted on a pivot D. passing through thebody block B and bed plate B is a turntable D provided'with two radial projections'D D constituting arms having sockets in their ends to accommodate bars D by means of which the turn table can be manually oscillated about its pivot.

Mounted on and projecting downwards from the arm D is a pin E the lower end of which passes through a curved groove B in the'bed plate B and is'provided with a nut E the groove B acting. as a guide for the lower end of thepin E during the oscillating movement of the turntable D. The intermediate portion of the pin E engages a. slot F in a member F which is provided with an undercut groove F in its face which lies adjacent to the former, this groove F being adapted toreceive. a corresponding projection F -on a bending member F which engages the former tangentially, the member F thus acting as acarrier for member F The member F is mounted on a plate G (see Figure 4 which has a slot G? therein corresponding to the slot F in the member F and isprovided' with a small metal block G at each end serving to steady the member F, the blocks G parrying catches G adapted to engage pinsF on'the ends of the bending member F so as to hold it in the bending position. The edge of the plate G adjacent quadrant B on the body block L The engaging surfaces C- and F of the former C and bending member F are suitably shaped to accommodate between them the metal rod or the like-indicated at Hto be acted upon and in the construction shown are each substantially semi-circular in cross section so as to accommodate a rod of sub stantially circular cross section. The intermediate portion of the pin E is eccentric with respect to its end portions and the upper end of the pin is rotatably mounted in the arm 1) and provided above the arm with a lever E It will thus be seen that by rotating the pin E by means of the lever E the member F and bending member F can be moved towards or away from the former C so as to facilitate the placing in position of the metal to be acted upon and to ensure proper cooperation of the faces of the bending member and former.

With the machine as thus far described it will be seen that when the turntable D is oscillated the member F and former F will be moved in such a manner that the point where pressure is applied to a metal rod or the like between the former C and bending member F will move along the rod or the like, the corr ct movement of the member F being ensured and rubbing motion between the bending member and the metal. being prevented by the cooperation of the rack G and the toothed segment B The metal to be acted upon is adapted to be restrained at a point adjacent to but a suitable distance from the portion actually engaging the former by an abutment member J in the form of a stop pin mounted to move in .a [guide slot B formed in the bet plate l5, and means are provided whereby the abutment member J can be caused to move along its guide to a variable extent when the turntable is rocked to effect the bending of the metal.

.Jhe mechanism for moving the abutment member may be of various kinds but in the construction illustrated a link K is provided having a slot K? at one end thereof through which the upper end of the abutment member J passes. The upper end of the abutment member screwthreaded and provided above the link K with a clamping nut- J having an operating handle J whereby the abutment member can be clamped to the link, a certain degree of variation in the point in the link at which the abutment n'ieniber clamped being allowed .by the slot K The end of the link remote from the abutment member is connected by. a

pivot- L toa slide member L which is mounted on a curved'ouide' M ri idl cona. g y

nected to or formed integral with the turntableD l The slide member L is capable of being moved along the guide M and can be clamped. thereto in any desired position. by a clamping nut L mounted on the upper end ofla bolt L which passes through the member L and guide M and is provided at its lower end with a head engaging the underside of the guide M.

It will be seen that by moving the membl,' IJ along the guide M the distance of the pivot L trom the axis of rotation 01"" the turntalfle D can be varied thus varying the extent ot the movement imparted to the abutn'ient n'zember J along its guide and in order to enable the member L tobe'set readily so as to impart a curve of the desired radius .to the metal to be acted upon, the guide M is conveniently provided with a scale as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. Further, the arrangement is conveniently such that in one endposition of the member L on the guide lit the pivot L iscoaxial with the pivot D for the turntable D so that the abutment member J will remain stationary when the turntable is moved, while in the other end position the movement of the abutment member J is such that no restraint is applied thereby to the metal and in consequence no bending takes place.

The member L is conveniently provided with a handle L by means of which it can readily be moved when desired.

Tt will be seen that with the machine above describes wherein the limiting positions 01": he member L are such that in one ofsuch positions'no movement of the abutment member takes place while inthe other the movement is such that 'no bending takes place, in the intermediate positions of the member L benoing will take'place and by varying the position of the member L various curveshaving radii greater than that of the former G can be imparted to the metal.

It will be understood that since the former C and bendmg member F can readily be removed and replaced, members having 0perative faces'ot' different configuration so as to be suitable for acting uponlengths oi":

metal of different cross section can be substituted therefor when. desired. For example various interchangeable formers and bending members may be provided adapted to accommodate pipes or rodsot diti'erent diameters or bars or girders of different cross section, for example girders of H or T section. Further instead of the bending member shown in the drawings a roller 0t suitable shape mounted on a pivot on the arm D may be employed. A bending member such as that shown is preferable, however, in most cases where th n copper or other tube or where channel or like section metalv 15 to be bent;

in some cases instead of varymg the extent of the movement of the abutment member, the same result may be obtained by varying its directionjof movement, for example by provid ng it with a separate guide member the position of which can be varied,

while if desired both the direction and the extent of the movement of the abutment B'lGHlbi-ZI may be variable.

Til

It will be seen that with a machine acco ding to this invention repetition work in 01 various radli have to be which cu ves in'ipartedto lengths of metal is considerably simplified, since for each curve it is only necessary to set the adjusting member to the corrlct position on the scale in accord ance with the curve to be imparted to the metal and when the formation of this curve is completed, a simple resetting of the adjusting member is all that is required to enable the machine to impart a curve of some other desired radius to another por tion of the same length of metal or to another length of metal.

The details of construction may be varied in wide limits without departing from ..s invention,

v i hat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by letters Patent is:-

1;. A machine for bending lengths of metal comprising in combination a curved former which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent, a bending member which lies on the other side of the length, of metal, means for producing relative movement between the former and the bending member such that the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former and the bending member moves along the length of metal during the bending operation, an abutmentmomber which lies on the same side of the length of metal as the bending member and serves to restrain the metal at a point in. its length adjacent to but suitably distant from the portion actually being bent, means whereby this abutment member is caused to yield to a controlled extent as and when pressure is applied against it during the bending operation, and means for varying the yielding movement of the abutment member, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A machine for bending lengths of metal comprising in combination a curved former which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent, a bending member which lies on the other side of the length of metal, means for producing relative movement between the former and the bending member such that the point where pressure is-applied to the metal between the former and the bending member moves along the length of metal during the bending operation, an abutment member which lies. on the same side of the length of metal as the bending member and serves to restrain themetal at a pointin its. length adjacent to but suitably distant IEIOID the portion actually being bent, a fixed guide along which the abutment mb s dap e to mere ans 0 mo ing the butm n member alon t id d ing the bending operation so that the abutment member will yieldto a controlled extent as and when pressure is applied against it by the bending operation, and means for varying the yielding movement of the abutment member, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A machine for bending lengths of metal comprising in combination a curved former which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent, a bending member which lies on the other side of the length of metal, means for producing relative movement between the former and the bending member such that the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former tion, and means for varying the yielding.

movement of the abutment member, as and for the purpose set forth;

4%. A machine f r bending lengths of metal including in combination a fixed former which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent, a bending member which lies on the other side of the length of metal, a pivoted lever so connected to the bending member that as this lever swings the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former and the bending member moves along the length of metal in the desired manner, an abutment member which lies on the same side of the length of metal as the bending member and serves to restrain the metal at a point in its length adjacent to but suitably distant from the portion actually being bent, a fixed guide along which the abutment member is adaped to move, a linkage connection between the abutment member and the pivoted lever whereby the abutment member can be caused to move along its guide to a controlled extent when the lever is swung, and means whereby the mechanism can be adjusted so as to vary the extent oi the yielding movement of the abutment member, as and for the purpose set forth,

5. A machine for bending lengths of metal comprising in combination a curved former which lies on one side o fthe length oi metal to be bent the operative portion'of which can be readily removed and replaced so as to enable formers of difierent shapes to used as required, a bending member which lies on the other side, of the length of metal also provided with a readily removable and replaceable operative portion, means for producing relative movement between the former and the bending member such that the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former and the bending member moves along the length or" metal during the bending operation, an

abutment member which lies on the same ment member, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. A machine for bending lengths of metal including a combination a fixed former which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent the operative portion of which can be readily removed and replaced so as to enable formers of difierent shapes to be used as required, a bending member which lies on the other side of the length of metal also provided with a readily removable and replaceable operative portion, a pivoted lever so connected to the bending member that as this lever swings the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former and the bending member moves along the length of metal in the desired manner, an abutment member which lies on the same side of the length of metal as the bending member and serves to restrain the metal at a point in its length adjacent to but suitably distant from the portion actually being bent, a fixed guide along which the abutment member is adapted to move, a linkage connection between the abutment member and the pivoted lever whereby the abutment member can be caused to move along its guide to a controlled extent when the lever is swung, and means whereby the mechanism can be adjusted so as to vary the extent of the yielding movement of the abutment member, as and for the purpose set forth. a

7. A machine for bending lengths of metal including in combination a fixed former having a curved operative surface which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent, a bending member which lies on the other side of the length of metal, a pivoted lever to which the bending member is so connected that when this-lever swings the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former and the bending member moves along the length otmetal in the desired manner, an abutment member which lies on the same side of the length of metal as the bending member and serves to restrain the metal at a point adjacent to but suitably distant from the portion actually being bent, a fixed guide along which the abutment member is adapted to slide, a link connected at one end of the abutment member, a member carried by the pivoted lever to which the other end of the link is connected whereby movement of the lever will cause movement of the abutment member along its guide, and means for varying the distance between the axis of rotation of the lever and the adjacent point of connection of the link so as to vary the yielding movement of the abutment member along its guide, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. A machine for bending lengths of metal including in combination a fixed former having a curved operative surface which lies on one side of the length of metal to be bent, a bending member which lieson the other side of the length of metal, a pivoted lever to which the bending member is so connected that when this lever swings the point where pressure is applied to the metal between the former and the bending-memb-er moves along the length of metal in the desired manner, an abutment member which lies on the same side of the length of metal as the bending member and serves to restrain the metal at a point adjacent to but suitably distant from the portion actually being bent, a fixed guide along which the abutment member is adapted to slide, a link connected at one end to the abutment member, and a member carried by the pivoted lever to which the other end of the link is connected whereby movement of the lever will cause movement of the abut-ment member along its guide, and means for varying the distance between the axis of rotation of the lever and the adjacent point of connection of the link so as to vary the yielding move ment of the abutment member along its guide, the member carried by the pivoted lever and to which the adjacent end of the link is connected being provided with ascale so that the point at which the end of the link is connected to this member can readily be adjusted in accordance with the radius of the curve which it is desired to impart to'the metal to be dealt with, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FRED ALBERT ODDIE llii 

